As an international student from South Korea, my passion for K-pop extends beyond the contemporary music of my time to include that of the preceding millennium. Over the years, I have observed the transformative changes in K-pop, influenced by advancements in production techniques and the forces of globalization. Notably, the growing collaborations between K-pop and Western artists have resulted in a fusion of diverse musical genres. In particular, I anticipate “Millennium K-pop” and “K-pop ON!” playlists to reveal distinct differences in musical components, including the tempo and rhythm, instrumentation trends, and melodic content. Upon reviewing the Spotify-curated playlists, I can conclude that both collections feature tracks that defined their respective eras. It is also important to acknowledge that both playlists maintain consistency by exclusively featuring music from K-pop groups without incorporating other genres like K-hip-hop or K-indie. However, a notable difference lies in the playlist sizes; the “Millennium K-pop” playlist consists of 100 tracks, while “K-pop ON!” features 50 tracks. For the analysis to have a more balanced comparison, it would be beneficial to augment the tracks from the millennium. In conclusion, my objective is to enhance my understanding of how K-pop has evolved by comparing the two playlists on Spotify, each representing different temporal frames - the millennium and the present.
In exploring the relationship between danceability and tempo within the playlists “K-pop ON!” and “Millennium K-pop,” it is evident that while no strong correlation exists between the two variables, danceability tends to increase with higher tempo. Additionally, the color-coded points on the scatter plot reveal that current K-pop tracks exhibit significantly higher popularity compared to tracks in the Millennium playlist. However, the correlation between track popularity and danceability remains unclear, as no definitive relationship has been established.
For a more detailed comparison between the two playlists, histograms were created to visualize the distribution of danceability and tempo. While danceability values remain relatively similar between the two playlists, there is a notable shift in tempo. In the Millennium playlist, there is a distinct preference for a specific tempo, whereas contemporary tracks display a more diverse range, resembling a more symmetrical distribution.